We

Zamyatin’s little-known dystopian novel We influenced Ayn Rand, George Orwell, and Aldous Huxley, and unlike them, he had no model. Zamyatin wrote We in 1921. The Benefactor, the one ruler, assigns numbers to citizens. Society uses pure mathematics as a religion. So the novel has the influence of the Logical Positivism of the day. The novel refers to groups and individuals as “ciphers” or “unifs.”

The novel is a series of journal entries by engineer I-503. He hopes it will reach people of the future and that they can learn from it. I-503 is building a spaceship called The Integral.

In One State, citizens live under strict regulations governed by mathematical principles, and their lives are meticulously planned. Everyone is identified by numbers rather than names, and private emotions or relationships are discouraged. The society prioritizes uniformity and communal existence over individuality.

As D-503 prepares for the construction of the spaceship Integral, he begins to experience feelings for I-330, a rebellious woman who introduces him to a world of passion and individual thought. Through his relationship with her, D-503 starts to question the values of One State and his own existence within it.

As the narrative unfolds, D-503 grapples with the tension between the collective ideals of One State and his emerging desire for personal freedom. His journey culminates in a conflict between loyalty to the state and his newfound individuality, exploring themes of oppression, love, and the human spirit’s struggle against conformity.

About Zamyatin

Zamyatin found himself in jail twice, once as a Bolshevik for hiding explosives in his flat. The Soviets send him into exile after serving his time. After a few years, he returned to Russia in disguise, settled in a small provincial town, and began writing fiction. A piece of his called “At the World’s End” brought him some fame again. It also landed him again in hot water.